Extra Credit Opportunity
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY FOR SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS: Due no later than Friday, January 15, 2016!
This is an optional, extra credit opportunity for the first marking period. A successfully completed post will be worth 50 points toward your 1st marking period grade (like earning a 100% on a quiz). You have a choice of which article you want to use for your post so choose one that interests you (and there are some really cool posts on this site!). Obviously, it can't be a post that I have already assigned or used in class. You will find detailed instructions on how to complete your post below:
- Go to the website www.SociologyInFocus.com and choose a post that interests you.
- Read the post and listen to/watch any audio/video files that are embedded.
- In your own words, write a brief summary (200 words minimum) of the post.
- Answer the "Dig Deeper" questions at the end of the post
- Make 2 questions of your own that are related to the reading or the main topic of the post (avoid level 1 questions that simply ask for recall of information in the article). Here is a helpful link to help you develop higher order questions.
- Post your summary and questions as a comment under this post on the homework blog (PLEASE check your post for spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors before posting it to the blog!)
- I want you to do something that interests you but I don't want duplicate posts. I want there to be variety. There are numerous categories on the left hand side of the page and an archive by date. You are not just limited to what appears on the main page (these are only the most recent posts).
- When you find one you want, post a comment under this post to claim it before someone else does!
- If your questions are particularly good, I may use them in class or on a quiz or test. If I do, you will receive bonus points on your participation grade for that week.
Should White Parents Be Allowed to Adopt Children of Color
ReplyDeleteEvery family has a certain way they do things. Most have evolved from traditions that have been passed down through many generations. In the article “Trick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet”: How to “Do Halloween” by Stephanie Medley-Rath,her controversy was deciding how her daughter will “celebrate” Halloween. Her and her husband come from very different background on how to celebrate Halloween. In her case, her mother made her costume, went trick-or-treating only at friends and family’s houses, and they only went during the day time. Not long after, her mother bought her way out of trick-or-treating. There were no kids in her neighborhood that were running around trick-or-treating either. As for her husband, his experience was the complete opposite. His parents used to drop him and his friends and siblings off in town where they would go door to door to all the houses in town collecting candy. This was a huge culture shock for Stephanie. You can only imagine the conflict that arose when their daughter became six and was now old enough to trick-or-treat. They lived in a community where the kids were dropped off to go to the houses and ask for candy. They came to the decision to take her throughout their neighborhood and collect candy. The mother still found the whole process shocking and completely abnormal, though her daughter seemed completely content with everything. On the bright side, Stephanie used this trick-or-treating process as a way to introduce herself and family to the neighborhood.
ReplyDelete1.Agents of socialization are individuals, groups, and institutions of which create the social context in which socialization takes place. Two examples of this would be the media of which we experience now more than ever, and our life with our family and at home.
2.Socialization differs from person or group that you talk to. For instance I would be more willing to talk about personal things and situations with my friends more than I would with my family. On the contrary, I would be more likely to discuss financial issues with your parents, because they are more experienced with these types of issues.
3.In my community Halloween has always been celebrated the same way. Every year my family and I would decorate this inside and outside of our house and bake treats. I would think of ideas prior to Halloween of what I wanted to be and we would piece it together or buy the full costume in store. My friends and family would meet at the church down the street when dusk was beginning. Then, as a group, we would all file through the town collecting our candies and then head home. The college in my town also offered a Halloween party for any young child to attend with candy and games and prizes.
4.What seems to be the mainstream representation of Halloween is pretty exact as to how I have always celebrated it. Most families nowadays decorate their houses and bake goodies. The students have parties at their schools. Kids dress up and go trick-or-treating the night of. Some families even go places and do activities together like pumpkin picking and hayrides.
1.What is your standpoint on how to celebrate Halloween?
2.How have your traditions impacted the way you celebrate any holiday?
BY THE POWER VESTED IN ME, I VOW TO KEEP MY NAME
ReplyDeleteIn this article the author is talking about the tradition of women changing their last name when you get married. Often, when women change names, they do so without thinking. She suggests that women should considered the reasons on why not to change their name. The tradition stems from an old patriarch society. Women were treated only as property, so they took the manś name to show that the men owned them now. But marriage then was not about love and mutual support throughout each other's lives, it was more like a business transaction. So it made sense for that time. Now people mostly get married because they want to share their life with someone. So to spend your life together, you don't have to share a name. Many people get divorces too, and then what are you supposed to do with your name? Changing it back, you will have the name of your father, showing that he owns you once again rather than your estranged husband. Changing names might be important to some people, because then their whole family unit (if they have kids) will have the same name. Changing for that family though means you have to leave the other family name behind. Some parents are okay with that, but I can also see how other parents wouldn´t. We have been conditioned to believe that last names are what unite a family, but it is not. Families with different last names still love each other just as much as families with the same name. It is a personal decision that will affect you, your spouse and if your have kids so it is important to think about. You can't go with the tradition just because everyone does. You should challenge the reasons behind them.
ReplyDeleteMy mother changed her name because she thought it was best or when she had kids, and we would all have the same last name.
My mother kept her name after the divorce. She did this because she still wanted to have the same name as her children. I do not know people who have created their own name or who changed their name after a divorce.
I´d like to think i wouldn't change my name when I get married. I like my name and it is a part of me, it would be weird to separate from that. I would hope my partner would understand that. Also I think of married life as a whole new chapter. A chapter where two families merge, you have children and it is the end of your single life. So changing your last name is a good way to start off that change. So many divorces happen though I wouldn't want to start a new chapter with a new name and then have it not work out.
I thank feminism for letting me have a life out of the household, and have a future to look forward to. I thank feminism for trying to teach boys not to rape instead of girls learning to ńot get raped. I thank feminism for suggesting to the opposition that women´s rights are human rights.
What are other traditions we should be questioning?
Why do you think men don't take the woman's last name more often?
Why does sociology always talk about how unfair things are?
ReplyDeleteWhat is Status?
ReplyDeleteHow can you work full time and still live in poverty
ReplyDeleteIn this article, the author discusses three reactions to learning about inequality. At some point in time people are always wondering why things in sociology are so negative, and it even quotes in the article "Talking about social inequality, exploitation and oppression can be hard. It's easy to feel individually powerless when discussing how social systems disadvantage some to privilege others." It explains the three reactions as so: Resistance occurs when a student is unwilling to accept evidence that challenges their world view. Paralysis occurs when a student reacts to a discussion of social inequality by throwing their hands up in defeat and thinking that the issue is too complex to do anything about it. Rage occurs when the student gets too angry about social inequality they are no longer able to take in new information. How to deal with it? When the teacher hear the student bring up something that bothered them in class he's actually happy about it. He basically says it's a good thing to show your emotions towards things like that, so you can talk about it and engage in ideas that challenge you.
ReplyDelete1.) I think it's hard for people to talk about social inequality because it happens a lot, especially with people our age, in high school when everyone seems to care about what other people think and what your "status" is.
2.) I guess if it relates more to me maybe I would, say if you had asked me how I'm treated by a certain friend when it's just us two, compared to when we're around a group of people and who those group of people are. I don't really know, if I would necessarily be uncomfortable, I'd just simply be honest about it.
3.) I feel I have experienced at least a little rage in the conversation or topic of inequality with my mother. We'd get into disputes about how I couldn't do these certain things, but I could do these certain things. I felt it was not fair or in my opinion that "uneven" feeling that's in inequality because I'm 18, and the certain things I couldn't do compared what I was allowed to do didn't make any sense to me what so ever so I would get angry about it.
4.) Backfire is a defense mechanism, and why its so hard for people to change their minds about social inequality is because we have these certain beliefs and certain ways of thinking that when we get proven wrong basically we get angry and try to prove our way of thinking is the right way, when in these social situations there are always many different ways of thinking. There's not always a right and wrong way, it's not always black and white.. Sometimes it's grey.
What are your thoughts on social inequality?
Why do you think so many people always have a certain way of thinking things the way they do?
"It's Only Deviant Until Everybody's Doing It"
ReplyDeleteFor a very long time in our history, tattoos were not considered a normal form of expression. They would be only for members of gangs, deviants, or if you were a biker. Today, the views on tattoos have made a complete shift. Before, most jobs would not even consider you at all if you had even one tattoo. Today, many occupations are ridding their field of those rules. For example, the army has always had strict rules on the size and positioning of tattoos. Even though the army still bans face, neck, and hand tattoos, they have become more lenient on someone in the army having a tattoo. That being said, why has there been such a shift in this cultural norm? Tattoos are seen on everyone from movie stars, soccer moms, and teenagers. Tattoos are not seen as deviant as before. Normally, Social Structures, what organizes society by using social institutions to promote some behaviors and discourage others, normally influences the individual's. But there are some behaviors that are challenged in social institutions when many individuals do something despite it being against social norms, like getting tattoos. This can make a once deviant action, into an accepted norm. Tattoos are not fully a social norm yet, but they might be completely accepted in our near future.
1) I think that someone should not be restricted from a certain field of work, but I feel like it is situational. I agree with the army for not letting people join with face, hand, or neck tattoos. I feel like if you have a tattoo that can be easily concealed when you are in a professional setting, there should be no problem around that person having a tattoo. If someone had tattoos all over their face or neck, it is the company’s choice to hire you since they are the owners of the company and they have their own vision for how their company should look.
2)There are many cultural values in my town. Some of them include hunting, football, and being proud of being from Vermont.
3) Technology has been so much more accepted in a classroom setting recently. In grade school, there were no phones ever allowed, children never carried allowed laptops or tablets, and most of our information was pulled from textbooks. A schools only real form of technology were computer labs. Today, the norm is for all students to be assigned technology like laptops or tablets, and to have them for every class. This could be an example of a change in social structure because many schools adopted the idea of technology being used often in classrooms so the idea carried on to many schools across America until it was a norm for all classrooms.
4)I believe that one would believe that someone would be more deviant if they had a tattoo. A person who sees someone with a tattoo could think that maybe that person is more compulsive, since they got something on their skin for life. They may also think of the stereotypical tattoos, like skulls or fire, which could make them think they would be more likely to deviate. Also, society has put stereotypes on tattoos through many movies and other media. For example, when you see a biker gang in a movie, they all have tattoos. Since tattoos are becoming so much more common, with people of all ages and backgrounds getting tattoos for many different reasons, I feel like the stereotypes attached to them are not going to be around for much longer.
Everyone is born with a status. Everyone receives a status throughout life. The article “What is Status” written by Stephanie Medley-Rath talks about the statuses we carry around everyday, the statuses that define who we are. She explains what her statuses are and how she has received them. She explains how our statuses are based on what people expect from us. Adults are suppose to be responsible, kids are careless, at least that is what people expect. They expect you to own up to your statuses and play the roles that come along with it. For an example, if you have an achieved status of being a lawyer, your clients expect you to play your role by showing up in court and fighting for them. Having an important status often leads to bigger responsibilities.
ReplyDelete1.An ascribed status is a status that you are born with or received without you doing anything to achieve it. One ascribe status I hold is my age. I can not change how old I am, no matter what I do. Another ascribed status I hold is I am a daughter. I was born a daughter and can’t change that.
2. An achieved status is a status that requires you to do something to receive it. One achieved status I hold is being vice president of student council. I had to work hard to get there. Another one I hold is being a crew member at work. I had to work and prove I wanted this position.
3. A master status is often the most important status in identifying an individual. I believe my master status is being a student. I go to school full time and this is a big part in my life.
4. Parenthood could be both an ascribed and achieved status because when your child is born, you are not a mother. That is ascribed to you, you can’t change that. But it is also an achieved status because you had to work to become a mother, it didn’t just happen. After watching this short video, this cases lends support that parenthood is both statuses because the stepdad was not actually her father, but he achieved the status of stepdad by being there and being a dad figure in her life. He worked to be there. Her dad had both ascribed and achieved statuses. He worked for her to be born, he put in the time and effort to bring her into this world.
My Questions:
Which status that you hold do you believe is the most important to you? Why?
Can you change this status? Or are you stuck with it forever? If you could change it, why would you want to?
The sociology of PDA
ReplyDeleteIn the article “Get a room!: The sociology of PDA”, by Nathan Palmer he begins the article talking about his first experience with PDA. He was 13 years old and in junior high on a class field trip. One of his classmates, which was a girl, gave eachother a high five. The teacher then wrote up both of the students for “touching each others body” also known as public display of affection. He then went on and explained why PDA was such a big deal, he explained this using Erving Goffman’s research. Erving Goffman describes the theory dramaturgy, and how the world can be divided into 2 parts: front stages and back stages. Front stages are the places where you are expected to perform for the audience and stay in character. Back stages are where you prepare to perform, can break character without consequence, and they are places hidden from the audience members. He then describes that a failed performance happens when someone “goes off script” or behaves in a manner that is thought to be at odds with the social role they were assigned. The paper then says how to approach and deal with a couple of “lovebirds” when they’re doing back stage behavior in the front stage.
ReplyDelete1.)house
car
hotel room
bedroom
bathroom
2.) Students: listen, take notes, and be quiet
Teachers: teach, explain information, provide work for students
3.) Shake their head: this is telling people they shouldn’t do this.
Saying a rude comment: “ Why don’t you save that for when you’re alone”- like saying they need to not show affection when they are in public and people usually respond to this.
Making grossed out noises: this tells people you think what they are doing should not be happening in front of everyone and it’ disturbing.
4.) She was letting you know that she didn’t have a lot of experience. In saying this maybe she was hoping for a little sympathy is she messed up or forgot something. The waitress was just trying to explain that she was going to try her best but she may do something wrong while they are at the restaurant.
Has PDA been overlooked in the past few years in your opinion, why?
What are the consequences for PDA?
Active Shooters and Masculinity
ReplyDeleteIn the article titled Active Shooters and Masculinity Ami Stearns talks about the trend of active shooters and how they are almost all males. She discusses trends about how pop culture is often blamed like video games and movies and how they can make some people act like that. As if it influences them to go and shoot a place up and kill multiple people. Another study showed that out of all the males involved in a mass shooting, approximately sixty two percent of them were white as well. Another reason and one of the big ones portrayed within this article is that they are trying to show their masculinity. The shooter’s masculinity was questioned by his peers and he believes that shooting a mass amount of people will restore his masculinity in other people’s eyes. But instead they take away multiple people’s lives and destroy families and end up dying in the process by either shooting themselves or being shot and killed by police. Oddly enough the article doesn’t touch the fact that some of the shooters were mentally unstable and something triggered them to go crazy and go shoot up a public place. I feel like Ami should have touched on their mental status a bit more instead of just their masculinity.
ReplyDelete1.)I think shooters are mostly male because I think that owning guns and knowing how to shoot them is more of a male-subject not being sexist.
2.)Brave, Strong, Respected, Tough, Rough, Feared by enemies. What he could do to be more of a “manly man” is beat somebody up that he doesn’t like.
3.)Statistically, men are usually the ones committing the assault and rape crimes against women because 1 in 5 women are raped in their lifetime while 1 in 71 men are raped in their lifetime. Based on these statistics, you can clearly see that men raping women is a lot more common than a woman raping a man.
4.)I don’t think any sort of course will cause boys to be less violent because in the end, you choose how you act. So you can either be good and hold in your violence and use it towards something positive, or you can let it out and be bad. But in the end you choose and I class will not be able to change that.
1. Why do you think more women aren’t active shooters?
2.What can we do to bring down active shooters as a whole not considering gender?